What is “Healthy Barrier Function”?

How does it help improve immunity?

We are constantly bombarded with microbes from our surroundings. Our immune system, a network of intricate stages and pathways in the body, protects us against these harmful microbes as well as certain diseases. It recognizes foreign invaders like bacteria, viruses, and parasites and takes immediate action.

Barrier function:

The barrier function of the immune system acts to prevent pathogens from entering the body from the external environment. This includes physical barriers like the skin and mucosal layers (gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract etc.) Our skin keeps these pathogens from infecting the deeper, sensitive parts of our body. This protection primarily results from the very special architecture of the skin that provides a physical barrier to particles, the size of microbes.

The SKIN: An agent to improve immunity:

The skin is one of the most amazing organs of the body. The average adult has about 25 square feet of skin weighing only about seven pounds. It forms the barrier between our tissues and the environment we live in.

Skin architecture

The outer portion of our skin is called the epidermis and is composed of five layers. The outermost layer of the epidermis is called the stratum corneum consisting of about 15 layers, held together by keratin and lipids.

Thus, microbes "perceive" the outer portion of our body as several layers of brick walls, which are impossible to penetrate when intact.

Protection and defense are the main functions of the skin, together with regulation of the transepidermal water loss (TEWL), defense against the action of external physico-chemical agents and aggression of microorganisms are part of the skin barrier. 

Filaggrin (a protein) and proteins of the tight junctions (TJs)  contributes to the formation of relevant components for pH maintenance, moisture and skin protection against microbial agents

The skin also has chemically related antimicrobial properties provided by the presence of fatty acids and its normally acidic pH.

In summary, the skin is a fantastic barrier against infection, but if its integrity is lost through injury, microbes may penetrate to deeper sensitive tissues.

Hence, the Skin , the biggest SENSE ORGAN of the human body also needs a balanced diet consisting of a range of vitamins and minerals ( which can be given as tropical application).

Healthy nourished skin will maintain the HYDRATION & pH of the skin , which will provide an EFFECTIVE barrier against microbes.

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